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For an ordinary Canadian PAL or RPAL holder, the answer is no. Under Criminal Code s. 84(1), an automatic firearm is a firearm capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession during one pressure of the trigger, and automatic firearms are prohibited firearms in Canada.
That is the headline answer. The real problem starts after that. If you already own one, inherited one, or are dealing with old registered inventory in an estate, the question is not "can I buy a machine gun?" It is "who can still possess this lawfully, and what is the cleanest legal exit route?" Most page-one results do not get that far.
This page is about that narrow lane: legacy full-auto firearms, the closed grandfathered categories that still exist, and the lawful next steps if one is already in play.
Are Full-Auto Firearms Legal for Ordinary Canadians?
Not in the way most searchers mean it.
There is no ordinary civilian path that lets a new PAL or RPAL holder go out and buy a full-auto firearm in Canada. There is no separate "automatic weapons licence" a normal applicant can apply for. Full automatics sit in the prohibited class, and individual ownership survives only through old grandfathered conditions that are already closed.
That distinction matters because search results often mix three different problems together: legacy automatic firearms, converted automatics, and the newer 2020, 2024, and March 7, 2025 named-model prohibitions. They are not the same legal track. Legacy full-autos were already prohibited long before the recent OIC waves.
So if your search was "are machine guns legal in Canada?", the short answer is this: ordinary Canadians cannot newly buy or own one. If your real situation is that a lawful legacy firearm already exists in a collection or an estate, keep reading. That is where the rules get narrow, specific, and expensive to get wrong.
Who Can Still Legally Possess a Full-Auto Firearm?
The lawful categories are small, and no new individual path is being opened.
| Category | What it covers | Practical reality |
|---|---|---|
12(2) holders | Grandfathered individuals authorized for full automatics | Closed category. They can only acquire already registered prohibited firearms in Canada through a lawful transfer. |
12(3) holders | Grandfathered individuals authorized for converted automatics | Same closed logic. No new individual entry path exists. |
| Authorized businesses | Businesses with specific prohibited authority on the business licence | Can possess prohibited firearms for the purposes actually authorized on that licence. |
| Government / public agencies | Military, police, and other public bodies acting within their authority | Not an ordinary civilian ownership route. |
Grandfathering is the hinge point here. If an individual's licence ceases to be valid, that grandfathered status is lost permanently. There is no reset button. There is no fresh application path. The firearm can still exist. The private ownership path does not grow back.
No new prohibited licences are issued to individuals. Grandfathering is closed.
Grandfathered status also does not create a private import loophole. It allows acquisition only of prohibited firearms already registered in Canada. That is why model-name interest and legal transferability are two separate questions. A desirable Thompson, Bren, or MG42 does not become easier to buy because collectors want it.
If you need the broader framework around the prohibited class, read Prohibited Firearms in Canada. This page stays tighter than that. It is about legacy automatic inventory and what can still happen to it lawfully.
What Happens If You Inherit One?
This is one of the few real-world scenarios where this keyword stops being theoretical.
Under the RCMP estate guidance, an executor may possess estate firearms while the estate is being settled even if the executor is not personally licensed, unless a court order bars that person from possessing firearms. That does not mean the executor gets to sit on the firearm indefinitely. The estate still has to transfer, export, deactivate, surrender, or otherwise lawfully dispose of it within a reasonable time.
The common mistake is assuming a beneficiary can simply keep the firearm because it came from family. In most cases, that is wrong. A beneficiary can only keep a full-auto firearm if that beneficiary already falls into a lawful possession category. For most families, that answer is no.
Do not start with transport. Start with identification and papers. Confirm what the firearm is, whether it is a 12(2) full automatic or a 12(3) converted automatic, and where the registration stands. Then map the disposition route. If you need the estate workflow in more detail, read Estate Firearms: Executor Legal Obligations.
If You Already Own One, the Real Decision Is the Exit Route
This is not a commodity market. It cannot be.
For a lawful existing owner, the practical question is which route preserves the most value, which route is legally available, and which route removes the firearm from the private collector pool for good.
Four broad routes exist:
- Transfer to another lawful holder with matching authority. This is the most direct private-market route, and also the hardest one to execute because the eligible buyer pool is tiny and shrinking.
- Sell or consign through a licensed prohibited-firearms business. This is where a business with the right authority matters. Everything Old holds Business Firearms Licence
#13848437, with authorization that includes prohibited firearms consignment, prohibited import, and export on consignment. - Export through a compliant business route. For some legacy pieces, export is where value survives because the domestic path is so narrow.
- Deactivate or surrender. Deactivation preserves the physical object but permanently ends its life as a functioning firearm. Surrender is the cleanest route administratively and the worst route for value. For the deactivation route itself, read Deactivation Standards and RCMP Requirements.
Every transfer to a business instead of another matching individual changes the market permanently. The private collector pool gets smaller. That thin-market reality is not theory. It is the direct result of a closed grandfathering system and an aging holder base.
If your goal is value recovery, do not treat deactivation as the first move by default. If your goal is to keep the object in the family as a display piece, deactivation can make sense. They are different goals. People blur them together and lose ground.
How a Legal Transfer or Export Actually Works
This is where people get sloppy. The sequence matters.
First, confirm classification and recipient eligibility. A grandfathered owner, an estate, and a licensed business do not all play by the same rules. A desirable model does not fix a bad legal path.
Second, the transfer itself is not complete when two people shake hands. For restricted and prohibited firearms, the firearm stays with the transferor until the Canadian Firearms Program approves the transfer and the new registration certificate is issued. Moving ahead before that point is how people create trouble for themselves.
Third, transport has its own lane. Personal transport of a restricted or prohibited firearm usually requires an ATT from the provincial or territorial CFO. If a licensed carrier ships it on your behalf, a personal ATT is not required for that shipment.
Fourth, do not assume Canada Post solves the logistics. Canada Post's domestic applicability is limited to non-restricted firearms, restricted firearms, and prohibited handguns. That does not create a simple default route for other prohibited firearms, and it definitely does not justify promising Xpresspost or home pickup before the firearm class, service level, and location are confirmed. Everything Old qualifies shipping case by case for exactly that reason.
Fifth, export adds another layer. You still need the Canadian side handled properly, and you also need the destination country's import approval. Global Affairs Canada export controls are part of the route. Blanket timing claims are not useful here because the workable timeline depends on the firearm, the destination, and the paperwork stack.
If you want a self-serve answer, this section is the bad news. A legal full-auto transfer or export is a process problem before it is a buyer problem.
Thompson, Bren, and MG42 Searches: Rarity Does Not Override the Law
This is where collector instinct collides with Canadian firearms law.
A Thompson submachine gun, Bren gun, or MG42 can be historically important, mechanically fascinating, and worth serious money. None of that changes the possession category. Legal transferability comes first. Value comes second.
Condition, provenance, originality, and registration status still matter. They matter a lot. But they only matter after you establish that the firearm can move lawfully to the next holder or through the next business route. A rough gun with a clean legal path is easier to solve than a beautiful one trapped in the wrong paperwork lane.
Everything Old's own MG42 example makes the point. The firearm was bought for $5,500 CAD and is insured at $95,000 USD minimum. That USD figure is a replacement-cost number for insurance purposes, not a realizable sale price. Live full-auto export to the US civilian market is not open to Canadian sellers. Canadian full-auto export is restricted to AFCCL-listed countries with government or government-authorized consignees only. The Canadian buyer pool is measured in dozens of grandfathered licence holders. The law creates the market shape first, and a very thin market is what you are actually selling into.
The Thompson needs to weigh what a Thompson weighs. Serious collectors know that. Productions know that. None of that gives an ordinary civilian a buying path. It just explains why these searches keep happening even though the legal route is closed to almost everyone reading the query.
Why This Is Separate From the 2020-2025 OIC / Buyback Pages
Legacy full-auto law and the OIC / buyback track are different problems.
Full-auto firearms were already in a legacy prohibited and grandfathered regime before the 2020 OIC, the December 2024 expansion, and the March 7, 2025 prohibition. The October 30, 2026 amnesty applies to those newly prohibited firearms. It does not create a new deadline for the old 12(2) and 12(3) full-auto categories.
That is why this page stays separate from the buyback pages. If your issue is an AR-15, a named-model semi-auto, or another firearm caught by the later prohibition waves, go to OIC Prohibition List: Complete Guide and Gun Buyback Program Canada. If your issue is a legacy automatic already sitting in the prohibited class, this page is the right lane.
The confusion matters because the wrong page leads to the wrong next step. Legacy automatic owners are not solving the same problem as OIC owners.
When a Licensed Prohibited-Firearms Business Becomes Necessary
There is a point where this stops being a research problem.
If you inherited a full-auto firearm, cannot confirm classification, need lawful disposition, are considering export, want deactivation, or need consignment help, a licensed prohibited-firearms business becomes necessary. That is not marketing language. It is the structure of the law.
Everything Old holds Business Firearms Licence #13848437, valid from September 24, 2024 to September 23, 2027. The licence authorizes prohibited firearms consignment, prohibited import, export on consignment, and film or TV supply. EO is also an authorized RCMP Firearms Verifier for classification and identification work. If the right answer is deactivation rather than sale, EO coordinates the file with a business authorized to perform deactivations — we do not currently perform the work in-house. End-to-end turnaround is generally 1-4 weeks.
Film and TV capability is secondary proof here, not the main story. The main story is operational authority. A business that can legally receive, verify, route, consign, export, or deactivate prohibited inventory is different from a dealer that has to turn you away. If you need that side of the business, see Film and TV Prop Firearms in BC.
If that is your situation, gather the make, model, registration details, and anything you know about the firearm's history before you call. The first useful conversation is about legal lane, value-preservation options, and the exact compliance route from your location.